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Compare And Contrast Salem Witch Trials And Mccarthyism

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The Hunt

Historic recurrence is the repetition of analogous events or circumstances in history. Many argue that historic recurrence is one of the most unacceptable and shameful concepts in our civilization because it is entirely preventable. We as a society are fully responsible and liable for it’s detrimental effects because we have the wherewithal to know better. In our very country, there are many accounts of history repeating itself. Two prominent and heavily associated models of such recurrence are the communist-hunt of the 1954 McCarthy hearings and the witch-hunt of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials.

The communist-hunt of the McCarthy hearings drew parallels to the equally far-reaching witch-hunts of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials in that …show more content…

McCarthy accused citizens of communism, using the alleged communists as scapegoats for society's problems and to promote an anti-Communist campaign. Similarly, Abigail, one of the initial young accusers in the Salem witch trials, indicted people of being witches. The purported witches of Salem were scapegoats for nearly all their domestic problems. The ritualistic and ignorant Puritans sought out scapegoats to punish those with a growing desire for liberalism and commercialism within the town, which was against their strict religion. Some accused innocent individuals as a wicked solution to settle land disputes, while others used the hysteria to get revenge on townsfolk who threatened their modest lifestyles.

The McCarthy hearings of the Second Red Scare and the 1692 Salem Witch Trials are two of the most notorious cases of mass hysteria in our country’s history. They have been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as vivid cautionary tales and models for the dangers of isolationism, religious or political extremism, and false accusations. Those who are incapable of learning from the past are destined to repeat it. The parallels between the respected trials validate this

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In the 1940 's and 1950 's, an anti-Communist movement swept the United States of America. Fueled by the anti-Communist actions of Congress, particularly a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy, the movement escalated and many people lost their jobs as a result of various blacklists. Congressional hearings, both in front of HUAC and McCarthy Senate committee were a study in organized persecution. The actions taken during the "Red Scare" were eventually given the general name McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.

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745 Words | 3 Pages

The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been instigated by religious, social, geographic and even biological factors. During these trials, 134 people were condemned as witches and 19 were hanged. These statistics also include 5 more deaths that occurred prior to their execution date. It is interesting to look into the causes of this stain on American History, when as shown in document B, eight citizens were hanged in only one day.

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1066 Words | 5 Pages

The Salem Witch Trials; Madness or Logic In Stacey Schiff’s, List of 5 Possible Causes of the Salem Witch Trials and Shah Faiza’s, THE WITCHES OF SALEM; Diabolical doings in a Puritan village, discuss in their articles what has been debated by so many historians for years, the causes of the Salem Witch trials. Schiff and the Faiza, purpose is to argue the possible religious, scientific, communal, and sociological reasons on why the trials occurred. All while making word by word in the writer’s testimony as if they were there through emotion and just stating simply the facts and theories. They adopt the hectic tone in order to convey to the readers the significance, tragedy, logic, loss, and possible madness behind these life changing events,

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1711 Words | 7 Pages

What a Horrible World     In today 's day and age we have more technological, medicinal, societal, and worldly advancements than we did in either 1692 or 1947, but we are still just as easily corrupted by jealousy, power, and paranoia. The years 1692 and 1947 are perfect examples of prospering societies that became undermined through very similar processes. In 1629 the Salem Witch Trials and in 1947 the McCarthy Communist Trials- were both held unjustly, involving condemnation based on unfair trial practices. People desperately admitted to being a witch (1692) or to being a communist (1947) only because they didn’t want to die. Even if you were found innocent your life was virtually over because your career and livelihood had been destroyed

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1039 Words | 5 Pages

In times of fear and hysteria in the U.S. it is mass chaos and it only gets worse and worse. During the time of both the witch-hunt eras, whether for communist or actual witches, they prove to have many similarities between them. Both of these times were full of confusion and lying which lead to the temporary downfall of the authority at that time. Joseph McCarthy proved to be a factor in this time and add on to the chaos that was America. Arthur Miller wrote about these times in a book called The Crucible, based on the witch trial era.

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989 Words | 4 Pages

People were so full of fear that they would do anything to eliminate their anxiety. The McCarthy hearings of the 1950s reenacted the hysteria of the Salem witch trials of 1692 by spreading mass fear of prosecution, creating false accusations, and blacklisting people. The Salem witch trials were considered to be America 's most notorious episode of witchcraft hysteria. Many innocent people were killed as a result of false accusations, and many other women were put through trials to determine if they were witches.

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1035 Words | 5 Pages

In the play, The Crucible, Salem, Massachusetts, along with the United States during McCarthyism, is engulfed with paranoia. Although both situations include different causes, their effects are strikingly similar. For instance, throughout The Crucible, Abigail Williams is being shown repeatedly accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Her actions begin sending the small town into a panic as they throw people into jail and hang them in an effort to try and cleanse the town from any aspect of evil. Similarly, throughout 1950-1954, Joseph McCarthy falsely accused people within the United States Government of being a member of the Communist party.

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790 Words | 4 Pages

Undoubtedly, both The Crucible and McCarthyism were driven by fear. The people feared that witchcraft could be affecting the town’s girls and harming others because the character Abigail Williams would point fingers blaming anyone. Comparable to Senator Joseph McCarthy, on

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608 Words | 3 Pages

The Salem Witch Trials were fueled by fear because no one wanted to be punished or killed. In Document B, Act 1 of The Crucible, Reverend Hale arrives to see who is behind all of the witchcraft. When he asks the girls to give him, the names of the people they saw with the Devil. “Abigail: I want to open myself. I want the light of God; I want the sweet love of Jesus!”

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906 Words | 4 Pages

When people are placed under an intense feeling of fear, they begin to commit actions they never thought they were capable over. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. This is similar to a time in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accuses government officials of communism and that ultimately leads to hundreds of citizens losing their jobs. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear.

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1257 Words | 6 Pages

The Salem witch trials proved to be one of the most cruel and fear driven events to ever occur in history. Many innocent people were accused of witchcraft, and while some got out of the situation alive not everyone was as lucky. Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible conveys this horrific event in his book and demonstrates what fear can lead people to do. But the reason as to why Arthur Miller felt the need to write The Crucible in the first place was because the unfortunate reality that history seemed to have repeated itself again. In the article “Are You Now or Were You Ever”, Arthur Miller claims that the McCarthy era and the Salem witch trials were similar and he does this through his choice of diction, figurative language, and rhetorical questions.

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660 Words | 3 Pages

Miller’s purpose of The Crucible was to represent and mirror the social injustice under McCarthyism as people falsely accused each other because their fear, jealousy and solely hatred of one another. Although, around 1950-1954 the “innocent until proven guilty” clause existed, most trials and accusations were led by “guilty until proven innocent.” Despite Miller’s efforts to criticise people’s actions as

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466 Words | 2 Pages

The Salem Witch Trials can be compared to many historical events around the world. The Holocaust is one of the most compared events to the Salem Witch Trials. These events are brought together by the facts that both of them were tragic and people died horrifically. Neither of these events were handled in a way that was beneficial for their economies. The Holocaust is a modern day “Witch Hunt” that relates to the Salem Witch Trials due to instinctual prejudice and mass hysteria, but differs in religion and the scale of the executions.

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867 Words | 4 Pages

The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism have an uncanny relation to one another. In Salem people were afraid of not appearing christian enough, meanwhile during the 50’s Americans feared of being accused of communism. Also during the McCarthyism era and the witch trials innocent lives were ruined when people were forced to accuse others or be accused themselves. Though The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism, it focuses some of its attention on the question what is more important, your honor and reputation or your life?

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775 Words | 4 Pages

In Arthur Miller 's play The Crucible, false accusations and fear are used to imprison and kill many people accused of being witches. In this way, The Crucible stands as an allegory for McCarthy 's communist hunt, during which many people were also killed and imprisoned due to accusations of communism. By comparing McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials, Miller is able to communicate that people should not conform to societal trends because these trends may be misleading and cause innocent people to get hurt. Many characters in The Crucible serve as allegories to McCarthy 's communist hunt, specifically Abigail Williams, Giles Corey, and Betty Parris.

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